The 8th International Urban Design Conference is pleased to welcome Dr Andreas Wesener, Lecturer in Urban Design at Lincoln University, NZ who will discuss ‘Post-Disaster Temporary Urbanism: An Analysis of the Creation, Use and Benefits of Transitional Community-Initiated Open Spaces in Christchurch, New Zealand’.

Andreas studied architecture in Bochum, Germany and the Bartlett School of Graduate Studies, University College London. He was awarded his doctorate from the Bauhaus-University in Weimar, Germany. Andreas has worked as an architect in the private sector, as a research associate for Birmingham City University, and as a research fellow for the Research Institute for Regional and Urban Development (ILS) in Aachen, Germany. He has taught at universities across England, Belgium and Germany. Andreas is a member of the German Board of Architects in North Rhine-Westphalia (AKNW).

Andreas’​ main research interests are urban regeneration and sustainable urban development with a focus on the interplay between social, political and economic processes, human experiences and the physical built environment. He organised the international conference “Urban Design Research: Method and Application”​at Birmingham City University (UK) in 2009. In his current research at Lincoln University, supported by a Faculty of Environment, Society and Design’s collaborative seed fund and linked to EU COST Action TU1201 (Urban Allotment Gardens in Europe), Andreas analyses (temporary, post-disaster) community-initiated open spaces (CIOS) including community gardens from a spatial, social and experiential perspective.

Join Dr Andreas Wesener in discussion of this years’ conference theme ‘Empowering Change: Transformative Innovations and Projects’, which will focus on inspirational changes in urban environments. For more information on the 8th International Urban Design Conference being held at the Sofitel Brisbane from 16 to 18 November 2015 and to register please visit the conference website.